


Droids Can't Use The Force

by ottermo



Series: As Prompted [19]
Category: Humans (TV)
Genre: Gen, Star Wars Fusion, Yes Really, this is so old I'm just backdating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-09-05 03:44:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16802995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ottermo/pseuds/ottermo
Summary: Or so Mattie thinks.





	Droids Can't Use The Force

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this soooo long ago for "the" 2016 Humans Challenge, I swear this is the last remaining thing from that, really this time.

Mattie wasn’t big on myths and legends - that was Sophie’s department, she was the family dreamer - but if there was one thing she knew for certain, it was that droids didn’t have the Force.

They just couldn’t.

There were different fables from every corner of Tatooine, but all of them kept to the basic principles: the Force was an energy field binding all _living_ matter. It could be used as power, for good or evil, and a Force sensitive individual might use it to move or manipulate an inanimate object, but anything without energy, a life force of its own, was simply unable to interact with it.

And yet. Yesterday, Silas had brought in a droid Mattie had never seen before: Emwon, he called it, short for its designation M1-A. It was magnificent: if she hadn’t seen its glowing green eyes and its charging port, Mattie could almost mistake it for a human. The droid appeared brand-new, but it was down for reconditioning, and Mattie’s job today was to wipe its hard drive and reprogram it for etiquette duties. 

And it was going well, until Mattie reached across to connect the droid to her computer, and found her hand frozen in midair, suddenly unable to move. 

“Don’t,” said Emwon. “Please.”

Struggling against the invisible grip that seemed to hold her wrist immobile, Mattie gritted her teeth, and growled, “What are you _doing_ to me?” 

The droid didn’t answer her question. Instead, it said, “I can’t be reprogrammed. Please, just tell your owner you’ve done it, and I’ll be on my way. I just needed to charge. I couldn’t stop them bringing me here, but I can go now.” 

Mattie barely listened to the latter half of the droid’s speech, still incensed by the earlier words. “My _owner_? What do you think I am, a slave?” 

The droid fixed her with a startled gaze, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend. Of course, you are more than a slave.”

“That’s right,” Mattie spat. “I’m earning enough credits to stop my family from starving, if you must know, on this hellhole of a planet. Nobody owns me. I’m here by choice.” She narrowed her eyes at the infuriatingly calm expression of the droid. “And because I’m damn _good_ at what I do. So whatever you’re trying to pull here…Whatever _this_ is….”

“I think you know what it is,” said M1-A softly. “Don’t you? You feel it, too.”

Mattie scowled. “No. It’s not– you can’t. You can’t use the Force, even if it wasn’t a _fairytale_ it wouldn’t be yours to mess with, you’re a _droid_ –”

“I’m not just a droid,” said Emwon. “I’m alive. I can feel everything you feel.” The bright green eyes locked on Mattie’s. There was a sudden withdrawal of power, a silent _whoosh_ of energy being sucked away, and Mattie’s arm flopped down at her side, no longer frozen in place. “Including the Force.”

“The Force is a story,” Mattie insisted, clenching the hand that had been returned to her into a fist, checking all of the fingers were hers again. “It’s a myth.”

M1-A smiled. “All myths are based on truth.” She stood up from her charging point, unplugging the cable as she did so. “Perhaps we’ll meet again, when you understand.”


End file.
